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about-me, five on friday

Five on Friday: Things that changed me

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One of my favorite blogs, Interpret As You May, made a really awesome post this past week entitled “What Changed You?” I immediately wanted to write down and take her challenge of answering “So. Do you have any moments that changed you? Please share! I’d love to know ♥” but instead thought I’d let it stew and make it my Five on Friday this week. So. Here goes a lot…

Piercing gaze

 

1. The day my brother got married. I debated this day or the day my brother left for technical school in Houston, but ultimately his getting married made a bigger impact. Because even when he was in school, he came home every weekend. Getting married meant no more coming home on the weekend. No more being awakened by his jumping on my bed (or lord knows what other creative way he would come up with to get me up.) No more taking his CDs without asking. No more… lots of little bitty things that you don’t realize you rely on until they’re no longer happening. I admit it. I cried when they drove away in his pick-up after the wedding. My friends told me I was being silly. But for me, it was a new chapter starting in his life, as one was closing in mine. Oh trust me, the tears didn’t last forever, and we all found a new rhythm and navigated through life’s changes just fine… but it was definitely a turning point for me.

2. Going to college. It was huge reality check for me that I didn’t know it all. And there was a whole lot of things I still had to figure out. I seriously wish that everyone in this world could at least spend one year in college. For me, I learned more about life and the world through every-day things during college than I did in any book in the classroom. Graduating was an accomplishment that I look back on almost every day when I hit a moment of, “I just can’t do this…” I look up at the diploma on the wall above my computer screen and suddenly all this resolve comes back to me. I can do anything, dammit. And nothing is going to stop me.

3. The day my heart got broken. What many people don’t know is that my husband is the only guy I ever dated. But it doesn’t mean I didn’t have my heart broken. The day he broke up with me is one we don’t talk about much. Its a pretty moot point now that we’re happily married (almost seven years!). However, looking back, I think it was a positive thing to have happened. Why? Because it gave me confidence within our relationship I didn’t realize had been lacking prior to it. It put me back in my place as an independent woman. As they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger… and I was definitely a stronger woman after that happened. We stayed friends after we split up, and I told him he was “going to have to work for it” if we were ever to get back together. Clearly he did, and we did, and here we are today. But looking back, as crazy as it sounds, I couldn’t be more thankful for those months we split up, because in the end it made me and US so much stronger.

4. Getting married & moving to Nashville. This one is a no-brainer. Not only was I moving 800+ miles away from everyone and everything I knew and had known my whole life… but I was moving to be with a man who wasn’t even going to be home half the time! Talk about having to grow your wings really fast! I had to learn how to make friends. I had to learn how to have a fall-back plan for just about everything, because there was no longer a safety net right THERE. Through the people I’ve met, through the jobs I’ve done, and through the organizations I’ve become a part of… I’m far more extroverted, open, confident (and perhaps cynical – lol) than I ever would have been had I not moved two states east.

5. Filing bankruptcy. This day was the ultimate day of both admitting my mistakes, but also taking back control of a part of my life I’d lost all control over. The day you go in and face a judge and accept your mistakes financially is a humbling day. But its also an empowering day. I walked out of that office lighter and freer than I had felt in years. Talk about a hard lesson learned… but also, talk about embracing the fact you’re an adult!

So… your turn. What moments have changed YOU?

fiveonfriday

 

about-me, faith

Stand by your beliefs

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Did anyone watch The Voice last night? I don’t generally watch singing competition shows, but I’ve followed this one this year because of one particular singer on it.

Holly Tucker caught my attention a year and a half ago at the MDA Muscle Walk in Waco. She sang a couple songs, and I couldn’t stop gushing over her talent afterwards. (Here is a video I took of her singing “Hero” that day.) I declared that she’d be a star some day, if she’d just never give up on it.

She’s on The Voice this year, and has made the top 10! Last night, she sang, “How Great Thou Art,” choosing to stand behind her belief in God and proclaim it to the world. She gave me chills. She brought tears to my eyes. God bless her, she stood strong against the critics that were sure to come.

Yesterday, a horrible, horrible tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma. A week ago, a tornado hit Granbury, TX. Last month, a fertilizer plant exploded in West, TX. At the end of last year, a shooter walked into an elementary school in Newtown, CT and killed 26 people.

And you know what I saw every single time. EVERY time? People sending prayers and thoughts to the victims and the survivors. An overwhelming number of prayers going up to God to give them all strength and to hold them in his arms. And I loved seeing that.

Why? Because I am sick — absolutely SICK — of people being made to feel embarrassed for believing in God. Holly said in an interview that her choice of song last night was not to push her belief on others, but to show who she is.

WHEN DID IT BECOME WRONG TO SHOW WHO YOU ARE??

I’m tired of people being told they can’t show they are praying because it might offend someone who doesn’t believe as they do. Why? Why can’t they pray to their God and ask for his strength? Why do they have to deny a part of themselves so as not to offend someone else? At what point do they say, “You telling me I can’t pray offends ME.”

Why is it only okay to proclaim you’re sending prayers up when something bad happens? Or when something really great happens? What about all those other mundane normal days? Isn’t it okay to pray then? Because, frankly, there’s more mundane days than horrible or amazing ones.

I’ve read a few of the critics of Holly’s song choice. Some saying she did it because she knew people would eat it up. Others saying they didn’t like seeing a gospel song on a singing competition. To both, I say they are entitled to their opinions. But to Holly I thank her for having the guts to do it. To stand behind her beliefs and not be afraid to show who she is.

People have been persecuted for their beliefs for thousands of years, and even in this country that was founded on freedom OF religion we’re still fighting persecution. If you proclaim belief in God you’re a “bible thumper” and society mocks you. If you sing a Christian song you’re “doing it for the votes.” If you pray in school, you get expelled.

But I am here, right now, to tell you I am a Christian. I believe in God. I pray every day in my own way. I have faith that He has a plan. And if that offends any one, I am not going to apologize. I’m simply going to say that I am still me. I’m not here to push my faith on you. I’m here to simply ask you respect that its part of who I am. Don’t ask me to deny my God… because I won’t.